Best of Show...

I took second place at the 2012 Lincoln County Arts Council Photography Competition for my photograph of my two "puppies". I shot it in color but simplifying it in B&W really took this picture to the next level. 

As the winners were announced I was happy with my win. I did not expect I would win any other awards, but there was still one Category left... "Best Of Show". As they read out the title of the best of show, I heard "Roaring". I knew that I had an entry entitled "Roaring Fork Falls", and that was the name that was read off. I was shocked, humbled and honored that one of my photographs had won "Best of Show".

I took this photo when Bob with the Carolina Nature Photographers lead an trip to travel to McDowell County to photograph four waterfalls. I would like to thank Bob for leading this trip and showing me this beautiful waterfall called Roaring Fork Falls. I have really enjoyed my short time with the CNPA and I am always learning something new from this group.

Thanks to my family for allowing me to go on these adventures to pursue my passion! Without your love and encouragement I would not be who I am.

Last, but not least... Thank you God for making these beautiful things in the world for me to photograph and pointing things out that are truly special.

One of the biggest things I have learned in this, be sure to print out your best shots for as great as they look on your computer screen, they look even more amazing printed!

Thanks for reading!

Mark 

My First Experience with the Foothills CNPA and McDowell County Waterfalls

On Saturday I got my first chance to participate with the new club I joined, the Carolina Nature Photographers Association (CNPA). I recieved a nice email from the Coordinator of the Foothills Branch of the CNPA welcoming me and inviting me to join them to shoot some waterfalls in McDowell County. The above shot is an HDR image of Roaring Fork Falls which was my favorite waterfall of the trip. More on it later.

We met up in Morganton and convoyed up to our first waterfall in Old Fort (Catawba Falls). It was a nice waterfall, but I just couldn't get a decent image of this waterfall. I will go back and hopefully the water will be flowing more as it has been dry here in Western NC as of late. So no images that I would like to show of this waterfall.

Tom's Creek Falls had the potential to be spectacular, but it was also running low due to the low rainfall amounts. I had recently acquired a fisheye adapter for my 16mm Pancake Lens on my Sony NEX-5 and I had a great time warping images with it. I love this little camera! So, no images of Tom's Creek Falls either, but I will return when the 'water is right'!

After a quick lunch in Marion, we headed up NC 80 near Busick, NC to hike to what I would say was the best waterfall of the day, Roaring Fork Falls. Yes, I posted this picture again so you wouldn't have to scroll up to the top to see it. 

Roaring Fork Falls had a really great 'personality' for a waterfall. I really enjoy the cascading type of waterfalls as I enjoy seeing the water snake its way down through the rocks on its way to where I stand to photograph it. The HDR picture of Roaring Creek Falls is actually three pictures with different exposures merged into one picture that more closely represents what the human eye sees when we look at the same scene. 

I also shot a little video of Roaring Fork Falls.

Everyone enjoyed Roaring Fork Falls. Here again I am playing with my Fisheye! Wow that thing shoots W-I-D-E!

After some of our group had to leave, it only left two of us to go to our last stop, SetRock Falls. Setrock was a little confusing to find, but after awhile we were again hiking to witness another beautiful waterfall. 

Now this waterfall was also running low, but it had good enough flow to capture some decent shots. Setrock Falls has the potential to be more spectacular, but I really enjoyed this little section as it made its way to the pool. These were shot with my new Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8 lens which I am really impressed with.

A little closer look at Setrock Falls.

After we hiked back to the parking lot we said our goodbyes and I thanked the leader of the Foothills CNPA outing for inviting me along. I had a long drive back home and as I headed East on I-40, I reflected on my impressions of my first experience with the CNPA. I came to the conclusion that it was a great group of folks and they shared my love of photography and of nature. I am glad to have joined and look forward to going on more excursions with this group in the future. 

Thanks for reading,

Mark